making news on this monday, september 13th. >> a waiting game for the family of an american woman held in iraq. they thought they'd be seeing her on saturday. now today could be the day. and storm watch. the newest system to keep an eye on this week a monster hurricane named igor. and is the feud finished? taylor swift's moat-hyped showdown with kanye west. and more surprises on mtv's biggest awards show of the year. good morning, and thanks for being with us on this monday. well, it is the announcement that an american family has waited for more than a year to hear and it's the announcement that could come at anytime. >> sarah shourd, the american held in an iranian prison is expected to be released on bail

but that hopeful news is overshadowed with a looming trial for the americans in custody. >> abc's lara setrakian is following the story. what is the latest on the developing story? >> reporter: good morning. as you said, sarah shourd could be freed anytime. now that she's up for bail. and they said it would post $500,000 bail for her release. she's been in solitary confinement for more than a year. her family tells us she's in ill health with a possibly precancerous condition and has had no access to medical care. she has had some contact with the two other detainees, shane bauer and josh fattal, the two other americans in prison today. they were arrested after allegedly crossing the iraq border. only now are we hearing about a coming trial and a possible sentence up to ten years behind bars. their lawyer in tehran has told me he's actually optimistic about the case going to court. he sees it as a necessary step. the only way to get the case resolved is to get the three

americans back safe at home. >> what a roller coaster it has been for these families. sarahshourd, of course, was expected to be released on saturday and that was canceled. lara, why all the back and forth? >> reporter: it's really a question control and politics. president mahmoud ahmadinejad has a tense relationship with the people who run the court system. his government had planned that release on saturday. a big ceremony and fanfare so ahmadinejad could take the grand humanitarian gesture. but the court officials said, oh, no, you don't. we'll release her but do it in our way. it's kind of like how politics have interfered with the hikers' case while they sit stranded in an iranian jail. >> thank you, lara. in other news now, congressional lawmakers get back to work today in the last session before the crucial mid-term elections in november. as david kerley reports one especially divisive issue has now soared to the top of the agenda. >> reporter: in a week during which you'll hear a lot of this --

>> tax cuts. >> tax cuts. >> tax cuts. >> tax cuts. >> reporter: -- expect an earful on the bush tax cuts specifically. republicans want to extend them. the president says it's time to let them expire for the rich, those making more than $250,000. and a stunning admission from the top republican in the house. >> if the only option i have is to vote for those 250 and below, of course, i'm going to do that but i think that's bad policy. >> reporter: a nod to the president's plan and a strategic effort to blunt mr. obama's latest attack. >> let me be clear to mr. boehner and everybody else, we should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer. >> reporter: the president claims letting the tax cuts on the rich expire will give $700 billion to cut the deficit. >> borrowing $700 billion for tax cuts that average more than $100 million a year, to millionaires and even billionair efast

effective bang for the buck we could have. >> reporter: extending the cuts to edge costs the government $3.7 trillion over ten years. what are the odds that the bush tax consults get extended before election day? >> i'd say the chances are zero that they get extended. >> reporter: what we're seeing is the white house worried about john boehner being the next speaker. and how would the house operated under a speaker boehner? "the ohioan" has called for repeal of health care and financial reform. so the white house press secretary was quick to point to story, a republican leader tightly bound to lobbyists including those from wall street. >> so they can go back to writing the rules themselves. they said we don't need to buy access. >> david kerley, abc news, the white house. and tax cuts were one of the themes as thousands of tea party members turned out for rallies across the country. sunday. in sacramento an estimated 4,000 people joined a united to the finish rally. what was far fewer than the

25,000 to 50,000 crowd that organizers had predicted. n washington, d.c., several thousand people marched from the washington monument to the capitol. state regulators in the wake of thursday's massive explosion in san bruno, california. four people are confirmed dead so far. two the six people missing have been found alive. and residents are now swarming the neighborhood hoping to be among the few allowed back in their homes. neal karlinsky spoke to many of the other who left disappointed. you came here thinking you could go home and now they told you you can't? >> now they told us we can't. they changed the boundaries out. >> a document has surfaced showing that the pg&e determined three years ago that the gas line was at risk of failure. ntsb investigators plan to reconstruct the metal pipe and said to be questioning employees today.

crews are battling a second wildfire in the colorado foothills. by sunday the fire had destroyed at least one home near loveland. in boulder residents were allowed to return to their burned-out neighborhoods for the first time. there are reports that a blaze may have been started by a resident's fire pit meaning criminal charges could be filed. another monste m is gaining strength in the atlantic. hurricane igor is a category 5 with winds hitting 150 miles an hour. igor is far from land and expected to be near bermuda by saturday morning. it is not forecast to hit the u.s. directly, but it could bring rough surf to the east coast. behind igor is tropical storm julia which could become a hurricane this week. and now for this morning's weather from around the country. another dreary day here in new york with light scattered showers stretching as far north as vermont. hail from nebraska and kansas. showers from dallas and houston. rain south of denver and

albuquerque. pop-up showers in florida. >> 80s from miami to baltimore. 75 here in new york. 65 in boston. 77 in detroit. 85 in omaha and 73 in the twin cities. 90s in new orleans and dallas. phoenix will climb to 103. colorado springs, 93. 87 in boise and 70 in seattle. when we come back, sold, the highest price ever paid for a home. you won't believe it. plus, the newest theory about where all the gulf oil has gone. and the big win on the world stage for team usa. ♪ [ female announcer ] we've got stains, down to a science. new wisk, with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology targets all the major stain groups like proteins, carbohydrates and oils. its enzymes and cleaning agents tackle a full range of stains. you'll never look at stains the same way again.

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encouraging economic data out of china this morning has helped to lift overseas markets. tokyo's nikkei average rose 0.9% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london the ftse opened higher. on wall street the dow gained almost 15 points last week. the nasdaq added eight points. the world's top regulators have agreed on new rules designed to prevent another major financial crisis. the centerpiece of the deal requires banks to increase the amount of capital they hold which would strengthen their finances and reduce risk-taking. some banks say that would also reduce the lending and actually slow down economic growth. the rules must be ratified by the g-20 nation before taking effect. harley-davidson workers vote obs.ay and slash jobs.at would the company has threatened to move its last two factories out of its home state of wisconsin

if they don't accept it. wireless internet is expected to get a lot more powerful. later this month the fcc is expected to open u.s. airwaves to broadband with a signal traveling miles and penetrating walls. it could also help to bring internet to remote parts of the country. this new wi-fi could begin showing up in gadgets a year from now. at the movies "resident evil after life" took the top spot. the lowest grossing weekend of the year. the 3-d movie had $28 million in ticket sales. the best opening yet for the series. "takers" meanwhile finished a distant second, followed in third by "the american." the proud owner of the most expensive home. the apartment in monaco went for $305 million. each suite has its own cinema, kitchen, dressing room and two

b bathrooms. the name of the new owner has not been released. coming up on this monday morning, the gulf oil is it hiding or in plain sight? and at the vmas taylor swift responds in song to kanye west in the most tight moment of the night. ♪ for strong bones, i take calcium. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different --

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england. slick also on i-45 from houston to dallas and i-40 from texas to new mexico. >> and if you're supplying today expect airport delays in kansas city, dallas, houston, boston and in new york. for months, we all watched as millions of gallons of oil from bp's blownout well spread across the gulf of mexico. >> but where did all that mucky sludge actually end up? some scientists say they know. their answer is rattling some government cages. matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: for 86 days bp's doomed well gushed crude oil into the gulf, over 180 million gallons. 17 "exxon valdezes," so where did it go? a noaa study last month said 75% of the oil was scooped up, burned off or evaporated. now researchers say they have a simpler answer. it sank. >> no, it's not gone. it's in places where nobody looked for it. it's on the bottom.

a lot of it is on the bottom. >> reporter: dr. joye and her team have been taking core samples. she said she found a field of oil two inches thick spreading as far as 70 miles from the well head. >> we're finding it everywhere. >> i wonder if you could pinpoint one thing for us that's most worrisome about your findings so far. >> there's nothing living here other than bacteria. i've yet to see a living shrimp, a living worm, nothing. >> reporter: joye says if those organisms are affected perhaps fish and larger fish would be. working with academy scientists to monitor the oil surface. but that hasn't always been th case. in may, joye was part of a team feature and this newscast that discovered giant underwater plumes of oil. at first the administration

demanded that they stop talking about the plume. ultimately the government and bp acknowledged the plume's existence. do you expect to be hounded because of this discovery as well? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: this time, joye says she has more research but is convinced the evidence speaks for itself. matt gutman, abc news. a sunday boat ride in northern texas ended up with two families going to the hospital. two boats carrying eight children collided in the water seriously injuring one boy. witnesses say one boat ran into the side of the other boat sinking it. all of the kids were wearing their life vests. in sports headlines this morning, the u.s. again shows the world its best in basketball. winning the world championship in istanbul, turkey.erstarnba s lamar odom helped an 81-60 victory over the hometown time. the first nfl sunday of the season, number one draft pick sam bradford, arizona beat st. louis 17-13. and no lingering effects of

last week's car crash on tom brady's throwing arm. he threw three touchdowns in the face-off against the bengals. his debut of chad ochocinco and terrell owens. the pats ended up beating the bengals. good morning, i'll steve weissman with the espn news update. we begin with the first nfl sunday and old rivalry. that's donovan mcnabb taking on the cowboys. first quarter no score. third and seven. mcnabb got the old legs that he used to use in philly. 17-yard gain. coach mike shanahan likes his new quarterback. redskins would settle for a field goal on the drive. four seconds to go. cowboys with the ball, tony romo keeps a sharp choice. he makes the wrong choice. fumbles and that's deangelo hall, the other way for the touchdown. redskins up 10-0 at the half. with 19 seconds on the clock,

cowboys still trailing fourth and ten. romo to miles austin. austin with ten catches for 146 yards. first down, dallas. now, three seconds left. last chance for the cowboys. romo eludes the rush. roy williams, wide open, touchdown, dallas. but wait. there's a flag on the play. it's a holding penalty against alex barron. look at that. yeah. clearly a hold. redskins go on to win 13-7, the final. that's your espn news update. i'm steve weissman. back to you in new york. it was a big night for some of the youngest and hottest entertainers around with lady gaga scoring bigger than ever. >> the 2010 mtv music video awards gave lady gaga eight wins, including video of the year and best female video for the song "bad romance." best new artist went to justin

bieber for "baby." and eminem took home the best male video for "not afraid." and, of course, a moment edge was waiting for, taylor swift sang a sympathetic and forgiving ballad to kanye west. she was later followed by kanye's performa his obting his obnoxious behavior. >> but the war is over. of course, not to be outdone by the younger set, 64-year-old cher presented lady gaga with her big video award, wearing one of her own eye-popping jumpsuits and wigs from the '80s. she joked to the cro she she had shoes older than most of the nominees. >> there she is, turning back time. the state of the hikers held in iran. plus, oprah's big surprise that has everybody talking. we'll be right back. when i had my heart attack, i couldn't believe it. it was a real shock. i remember being at the hospital thinking,

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air optix®, the lens you can survive a long day in. go to airoptix.com for a free one month trial offer. air optix®, the lens you can survive a long day in. dannon light & fit gives hope. and together, we can help, fiht breast cancer./ go online, enter the code from your light & fit lid, and we'll mke a 10 cent donation. now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this monday. an american woman held for more than a year in an iranian prison is expected to be released today. iranian officials agreed to sarah shourd's freedom because of health issues. congressional lawmakers return from their summer break today before their final session before the critical mid-term elections in november. topping the agenda, a face-off over whether bush administration tax cuts should expire at the end of the year or be extended.

president obama visits fairfax, virginia, where he will meet with a local family in their home before hosting a discussion on the economy with families from the area. ntsb investigators are set to begin reconstructing a natural gas pipeline that exploded into that giant deadly fireball which leveled an entire neighborhood in san bruno, california. fire crews in colorado are battling a second major wildfire in the foothills. at least one home in loveland has been destroyed and others are threatened. and television history will be made today as oprah winfrey begins her 25th and final season on the air. most of the guest list is top secret but we do know that the queen will dance on stage with actor john travolta. >> she'll be keeping busy, january 1st, own, oprah winfrey network launches on cable. >> for some of you your local news is next. from ground zero. you a survive tree retrieved

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>> the season premiere of "oprah." oprah: with john travolta. >> and -- oprah: i had no idea. >> ahh. >> plus, one of the biggest surprises in "oprah show" history. next "oprah." and finally this morning, an emotional weekend of remembrance. nine years after the 9/11 attack. >> flowers were placed in a reflecting pool at ground zero and the victims' names were read

aloud. president obama attended the ceremony at the pentagon and first lady michelle obama spoke in pennsylvania in shanksville. where one of the hijacked planes went down. >> meanwhile, a survivor. t.j. winick explains. >> reporter: at first glance, this pear tree looks like all the rest in this bronx nursery, but look a little closer and its scars hint at an incredible journey. one that began nine years ago. in the days after september 11th, rescue workers were in a race against time to find survivors. this tree, bent and broken, was pulled out from under 12 feet of rubble. it had sprung a small branch, willing itself to survive. richie cabo has been nursing the tree back to health from the very beginning. >> when we saw the tree come up, it looked like a wounded soldier. and it had arounds on the top part of the crown. >> reporter: it became known as the survivor tree, serving as an inspiration for all those who

escaped ground zero. >> people want to be part of it, people want to hug this tree because they're the survivors. >> reporter: soon it will return home at what will be the national september 11th memorial and museum. the first trees were planted here on the memorial site two weeks ago. in the end, there will be 416 of them in all, all of them, white oaks like this one right here, except for the one, the survivor tree. >> you look at that, oh, yeah that burned bark, that's from 9/11. everything is regrowth. >> reporter: the tree now stands 35 feet high and is thriving after having made it through new york and america's darkest day. t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >> plans are they hope to have the museum and memorial done by the tenth anniversary which, of course is coming up next year. >> that is what's making news in america this morning. >> get more from abc news later on "good morning america" or anytime at abcnews.com.